The Illustrated London Reading Book eBook

long pendulous feathers, which it erects at pleasure,
when the bird has a most noble appearance; the orbits
of the eyes and cheeks are of a deep rose-colour; the
bill is of great size, and will crack the hardest
fruit stones; but when the kernel is detached, the
bird does not crush and swallow it in large fragments,
but scrapes it with the lower mandible to the finest
pulp, thus differing from other parrots in the mode
of taking food. In the form of its tongue it
differs also from other birds of the kind. A
French naturalist read a memoir on this organ before
the Academy of Sciences at Paris, in which he aptly
compared it, in its uses, to the trunk of an elephant.
In its manners it is gentle and familiar, and when
approached raises a cry which may be compared to a
hoarse croaking. In its gait it resembles the
rook, and walks much better than most of the climbing
family.

[Illustration: GoliahAratoo.]

From the general conformation of the parrots, as well
as the arrangement and strength of their toes, they
climb very easily, assisting themselves greatly with
their hooked bill, but walk rather awkwardly on the
ground, from the shortness and wide separation of
their legs. The bill of the parrot is moveable
in both mandibles, the upper being joined to the skull
by a membrane which acts like a hinge; while in other
birds the upper beak forms part of the skull.
By this curious contrivance they can open their bills
widely, which the hooked form of the beak would not
otherwise allow them to do. The structure of the
wings varies greatly in the different species:
in general they are short, and as their bodies are
bulky, they cannot consequently rise to any great height
without difficulty; but when once they gain a certain
distance they fly easily, and some of them with rapidity.
The number of feathers in the tail is always twelve,
and these, both in length and form, are very varied
in the different species, some being arrow or spear-shaped,
others straight and square.

In eating, parrots make great use of the feet, which
they employ like hands, holding the food firmly with
the claws of one, while they support themselves on
the other. From the hooked shape of their bills,
they find it more convenient to turn their food in
an outward direction, instead of, like monkeys and
other animals, turning it towards their mouths.

The whole tribe are fond of water, washing and bathing
themselves many times during the day in streams and
marshy places; and having shaken the water from their
plumage, seem greatly to enjoy spreading their beautiful
wings to dry in the sun.

* * * *
*

THE PARROT.

A domesticanecdote.

[Illustration: Letter T.]

The deep affections of the
breast,
That Heaven to
living things imparts,
Are not exclusively possess’d
By human hearts.